According to documents, ATU Local 1027 represented bus drivers, dispatchers, and mechanics employed by MV Transportation in Fresno and Tulare and bus drivers employed by the City of Fresno. Raimer admitted that he used his position as secretary-treasurer to make unauthorized purchases for his own use from Office Depot, including big screen TVs, cameras, and a GPS navigator. He also used a union account to pay his personal cellphone bill and PG&E utility bill. The unauthorized charges continued even after he was terminated from his position. Raimer admitted embezzling more than $41,000.

This case is the product of an investigation by the United States Department of Labor, Office of Labor-Management Standards. Assistant United States Attorney Mark J. McKeon is prosecuting the case.

Raimer is scheduled to be sentenced by United States District Judge Lawrence J. O’Neill on January 21, 2014, at 8:00 a.m. The maximum statutory penalty for embezzlement from a union is five years in prison and for access device fraud is 10 years in prison. The actual sentence, however, will be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of any applicable statutory factors and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of variables.